Sewer Scope Inspections: An Important Part of Understanding Your Home
By Coleman Home Inspections | Duluth, Cloquet, Superior & Surrounding Communities
When purchasing a home, most buyers focus on the roof, foundation, electrical system, and heating equipment. However, one of the home’s most expensive potential repairs may be buried underground and completely out of sight.
The sewer lateral is an important part of the home’s plumbing system, and its condition is not typically evaluated during a standard home inspection.
What Is a Sewer Lateral?
The sewer lateral is the underground pipe that carries wastewater from your home to the municipal sewer main, typically located beneath the street or nearby public property.
Depending on the home’s age and construction, sewer laterals may be made from cast iron, clay tile, PVC, or other materials.
Although these pipes are buried, they can deteriorate, become obstructed, or fail over time.
Why Should You Have a Sewer Scope Inspection?
A sewer scope inspection involves inserting a specialized camera into the sewer lateral to evaluate its visible interior condition.
Some of the most common problems include:
Tree root intrusion: Roots can enter through pipe joints or cracks, restricting drainage and potentially damaging the pipe.
Cracked or collapsed piping: Ground movement, deterioration, or other conditions can cause pipes to crack, separate, or collapse.
Aging pipe materials: Older clay tile, cast iron, and other piping materials may develop deterioration, corrosion, or joint separation.
Obstructions and improper drainage: Debris, accumulated waste, or sections of pipe that have settled can interfere with proper wastewater flow.
These conditions may exist even when the home’s plumbing fixtures seem to drain normally.
Sewer Repairs Can Be Expensive
Unlike many plumbing repairs inside the home, sewer lateral repairs can require excavation of yards, driveways, sidewalks, or streets.
Depending on the location, depth, accessibility, and extent of the problem, repairs can cost thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.
Sewer laterals sometimes can be fixed by lining them with a small cost savings but the true savings with lining is it is less invassive. This requires the existing lateral to meet specific criteria and may be ok for your situation.
A sewer scope inspection provides valuable information about the pipe’s visible interior condition before you purchase the property.
Although a camera inspection cannot identify every possible defect or guarantee future performance, it can help identify conditions that may warrant further evaluation or repairs.
Sewer Scope vs. I&I Inspection: What’s the Difference?
Some municipalities in our region require sewer lateral inspections and some require inflow and infiltration (I&I) inspections, particularly during property transfers.
While these inspections are related, they serve different purposes.
Sewer Scope Inspection
A sewer scope primarily evaluates the physical condition of the sewer pipe using a camera. It looks for damage, deterioration, root intrusion, obstructions, and other visible defects.
Inflow and Infiltration (I&I) Inspection
An I&I inspection focuses on identifying sources of unwanted water entering the sanitary sewer system traditionally through the manhole and is just a simple visual inspection in most cases. An I&I inspection may involve checking plumbing connections, drainage arrangements, and other components depending on the municipality’s requirements.
An I&I inspection is not a substitute for a sewer scope inspection, and a sewer scope does not automatically satisfy municipal I&I requirements.
Requirements vary by community, so buyers and sellers should verify which inspections, certifications, or corrections may be required for their property.
A Small Investment for Valuable Information
Sewer lateral problems are often hidden until a significant blockage, backup, or pipe failure occurs.
Having the line inspected before purchasing a home can help identify potential concerns and allow buyers to make more informed decisions about future maintenance and repair costs.
At Coleman Home Inspections, we offer sewer scope inspections as an additional service to help buyers better understand the condition of this important underground system.
Because what you can’t see underground can sometimes be one of the most expensive parts of owning a home.
Coleman Home Inspections
Providing professional home inspections and sewer scope services throughout Duluth, Cloquet, Hermantown, Esko, Superior, and surrounding Northern Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin communities.
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